CECOSESOLA

The Central Cooperative of Social Services of Lara (Spanish: Central Cooperativa de Servicios Sociales de Lara; CECOSESOLA) is a cooperative federation in the Venezuelan state of Lara. It was established in 1967, when a number of cooperatives in Barquisimeto came together to provide a system of social services to their members. Following the collapse of its public transport bus service, which had operated in the late-1970s until it was shut down by the local government, the organization went through a period of reorganization. In 1983, CECOSESOLA workers abolished the cooperative's internal hierarchy and established a system of workers' self-management, which involved consensus decision-making, regular job rotation and equal pay for equal work. The organization then set up weekly food markets in the city's most underserved areas, which resulted in the rapid growth of CECOSESOLA. The organization gained enough influence that it was able to pressure the Hugo Chávez government to change the country's cooperative law. It also developed a robust solidarity economy, which gave the city of Barquisimeto a level of protection from the pervasive shortages in Venezuela. By the 21st century, CECOSESOLA had grown to count more than 20,000 active members and 150,000 customers at its food markets. Its growth enabled the organization to establish clinics, mutual savings banks and a self-managed hospital along cooperative lines.

History

Establishment

In 1967, members of a number of cooperatives in the Venezuelan city of Barquisimeto established CECOSESOLA, a second-tier cooperative which would provide social services to its affiliate cooperatives and their members. It was initially founded specifically to organize affordable funerals, a service which had long been neglected by the city's private sector.